Electrically controlled optic devices direct optical signals along selected fibers, or control optical signal intensity within a fiber link, or select a wavelength band of an optic network in which light signals are transmitted along optical fibers to transfer information from one location to another. Optical devices of this type should have the following performance characteristics: high-speed operation, low optical insertion loss, high reliability, low power consumption, easy to drive, and low cost to produce. Electrically controllable optical devices are becoming increasingly important in today's optical networks, due to their dynamically reconfigurable advantages.
In order to make the electro-optical device more efficient with smaller size and lower driving voltage, it is preferred to employ an electro-optical material as thin as possible. An application example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,403,677, by Zhao et al. This configuration can also be utilized in modulating a laser beam. However, the piezo-electric effect of electro-optic materials can generate unwanted vibrations when operated at high frequency. This vibration distorts the laser beam and consequently limits the operation frequency of the electro-optic devices.